Virtually Yours #05
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

A series of online discussions - Virtual Gatherings - with the award-winning author Zukiswa Wanner, exploring contemporary African Literature with authors.

Zango is a surreal town where men, some with erect manhoods, die when leaves fall from a life tree.

Zango is both setting and spectre for ‘Dreams and Assorted Nightmares’, a collection of interconnecting short stories which explore the spaces between life and death and beyond.
There’s a poignant story of a special needs boy with prescience; another about the family of a philandering artist trying to pick up the pieces after his violent death; one of a teen forced to make a heart-breaking choice after her mother disappears; and another about a woman who reveals a terrible secret to her childhood friend who is in a coma. The characters come richly-layered and memorable — like Naznine who had but slowly lost the most perfect smile in the world; new bride, Nana Aisha, left alone to face armed marauders who invade her home; and brigands, Audu Kore and Maimuna Dajjaj, who share a pure and precious love.
The stories mostly feel mystical and dark, but the palpable compassion with which they are written give them warmth and light. Like rivulets, the stories easily flow into each other, aided by Ibrahim’s signature hypnotic writing and majestic prose. This is a collection to savour especially for its many enigmas — the silent poetry and tragedies of everyday life, the darkness and tenderness of the human mind, and the crossroads between dreams and the supernatural.

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is the author of Season of Crimson Blossoms, which was awarded the 2016 Nigerian Prize for Literature and been translated into several languages including French, German and Tamil.
It follows his debut short story collection, The Whispering Trees, which explored the fantastical and ordinary to capture colourful Nigerian lives. It was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing and the Etisalat prize for Literature.
Abubakar is also the recipient of the Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling, the BBC African Performance Prize and has received several fellowships and residencies around the world. His latest book is Dreams and Assorted Nightmares, which profiles the people living in a fictional town whose lives may or may not be tied to a magical tree.

If you missed the session, you can watch the record here> Virtually Yours #5.